Gura did have a card in the 1971 set, but after only six appearances for the Chicago Cubs that year, in which he tallied only three innings, Topps didn’t give him a card in the 1972 set, and rightfully so.
He didn’t factor in a decision during those six appearances, finishing up with a bloated 6.00 earned run average, and he really never got started as far as his Major League career until he was 30 years of age, when he went 16-4 for the Kansas City Royals in 1978 with a very nice 2.72 ERA over 35 appearances, 26 of which were starts, with a couple of shutouts.
Over the next five years he’d be an all-star arm for KC, winning 18 games twice and posting a sub-3.00 ERA three times.
After an 18-win season in 1982, he ended up losing 18 games in 1983 to lead the league, before bouncing back with a 12-9 season in 1984 for the Western Division champs, though his ERA was an unsightly 5.18.
Sadly for him, after starting the 1985 season with the Royals, he was released in May, signing on with his original club the Cubs, only to see Kansas City go on to win the World Series.
That must have hurt a bit!
After five forgetful games with Chicago in 1985, he called it a career, finishing up with a record of 126-97, with an ERA 3.76 over 403 appearances, with 16 shutouts and 14 saves.
